References:
www.orangetractortalks.com
www.orangetractortalks.com
www.orangetractortalks.com
So as not to clutter @Nicksacco's thread any more, I decided to start my own. Excuse the repetition. My thread is not nearly as complete as his, but may have a few nuggets. For one thing, mine has gone much smoother than his so anyone contemplating this job shouldn't start out too pessimistic. So smooth, in fact, I'm waiting for the pending disaster to hit.
This is about the swing section only. My tractor has had a lot of play in the swing since I've owned it, so this job has been in the queue. One of the cylinders blew a seal last week, so I took that as the sign that the time was right. (I think I could have repaired the cylinder without removing it.)
First, I dismounted the backhoe. It might be possible to do this work with it on the tractor, but having it out of the way is nice. Besides, I'd wanted to know how to do it. The only problem was getting the handles that control the top jaw locks freed up. Mine were relatively easy, I did remove the wheels for access.
Once the handles were free, removing the backhoe was by the book, easy. I did leave it elevated on the stabilizers with jackstands under the lower attachment pins. Then remove the cylinder rod pins. The pins looked surprisingly good, but the bushings show obvious wear. The pins can be easily replaced in the future, so I've decided to keep what I have. At this point I decided to replace hoses and bushings, and refurbish the cylinder trunnions as well as repair the seals.
Next, I should have removed the back panel for valve access and the operator console from the main frame. Instead, I started working with them in place. I should have marked and removed the hoses first, but instead I removed the top support plate. Without the hoses in there the plate might come out differently, but I slid it out the side over the stabilizer. To clear, the stabilizer cylinder has to be horizontal, so I had to hook the hydraulics back up and let the jack stands hold the hoe up temporarily.
So, remove the rod pins, rock the console back for access, mark and remove the hoses, remove the top support plate, then remove the cylinders.
I measured and ordered the six hoses, about $230. Today, I took the cylinders to have the seals replaced. I asked the man to leave the glands loose, since I anticipate welding on the cylinders and don't want to overheat the rubber parts. On the way back, I stopped by the Kubota dealer and ordered the six bushings, about $100.
Then started the search for a machine shop to weld and machine the trunnions. First shop, yeah we could do it but we're swamped. How about x, close by? They don't do repair work. After a few more calls I think a guy a couple of miles away from the cylinder shop is going to go by tomorrow to look at them to make sure he can do it. If so, he can pick them up, saving me a 30 mile round trip. If that fails, I think I have a backup shop.
Back home, I decided to tackle the bushings. After all the cut, grind, torch, etc. stories, I was dreading this. As a warm-up, I found a socket to use as a mandrel and took the top support to my nephew's 15 ton press. Pressed those babies right out, easy peasy! OK, what about the bottom ones? They're trickier since they're in the main frame, so can't take them to the press. And, there's a thin ring welded in the bottom of the bore to form a shoulder, preventing the bushings from coming out the bottom. Maybe I can pull them out. My lucky day, the socket/mandrel was small enough to slide in the stop ring, but large enough to drive the bushing. So I rigged a draw setup, shown below. That's a Gr 8 3/4" NC bolt through a socket on top large enough to clear the bushing, then through the bushing, then the mandrel/socket. Grease the nut for good measure. Put the 1" drive breaker bar with cheater to it and, amazingly, it pulled out. The only casualty was the bridge of my nose when the 1-1/8 backup wrench fell off. Fortunately, my glasses were ok.
Here's a picture of the 4 trunnion bushings, top 2 on top don't show as much wear as the bottom ones. It was definitely time to replace.
You can see there's a groove in the outside, so it's not absolutely necessary to line up the grease hole with the zerk. There was grit in that groove, so it had to work its way through the bushing bore and out through the grease hole. As @Nicksacco has mentioned, the bottom of those bushings is open, so dirt can get right in. I plan on making some shields to cover them, leaving a small hole so grease can flush out.
Tomorrow, actually later today now, I have some coordination to do and, if all goes well, I should have cylinders ready to go no later than early next week.
BT900 Refurbishment and fun
Hello All. After finishing my L35 and wanting to actually use it, the time has come to refurb the backhoe. Come join me on this journey through rust, grease, leaking seals, and bad hoses to a land not so far away. Warning: If you decide to do this work, have lots of sacrificial clothes, Advil...
www.orangetractortalks.com
BT900 Refurbishment and fun - PART 2
Howdy All- I've been delayed due to some projects around the place, but going back to the BT900 to complete the refurb. I thought I'd again share what I've done to share what I've learned and the tools I'd used. In this PART 2, I am replacing the bushings in the backhoe frame that are the...
www.orangetractortalks.com
L35 - BT900 Separation and Derusting
Hi All- After almost 5 years of ownership and restoration, the time has come to separate my L35 from the BT900 backhoe. I've restored nearly everything about the two units - except where they connect. Hmmm, I needed inspiration. The Mount Release levers were frozen to their pivots in a...
www.orangetractortalks.com
So as not to clutter @Nicksacco's thread any more, I decided to start my own. Excuse the repetition. My thread is not nearly as complete as his, but may have a few nuggets. For one thing, mine has gone much smoother than his so anyone contemplating this job shouldn't start out too pessimistic. So smooth, in fact, I'm waiting for the pending disaster to hit.
This is about the swing section only. My tractor has had a lot of play in the swing since I've owned it, so this job has been in the queue. One of the cylinders blew a seal last week, so I took that as the sign that the time was right. (I think I could have repaired the cylinder without removing it.)
First, I dismounted the backhoe. It might be possible to do this work with it on the tractor, but having it out of the way is nice. Besides, I'd wanted to know how to do it. The only problem was getting the handles that control the top jaw locks freed up. Mine were relatively easy, I did remove the wheels for access.
Once the handles were free, removing the backhoe was by the book, easy. I did leave it elevated on the stabilizers with jackstands under the lower attachment pins. Then remove the cylinder rod pins. The pins looked surprisingly good, but the bushings show obvious wear. The pins can be easily replaced in the future, so I've decided to keep what I have. At this point I decided to replace hoses and bushings, and refurbish the cylinder trunnions as well as repair the seals.
Next, I should have removed the back panel for valve access and the operator console from the main frame. Instead, I started working with them in place. I should have marked and removed the hoses first, but instead I removed the top support plate. Without the hoses in there the plate might come out differently, but I slid it out the side over the stabilizer. To clear, the stabilizer cylinder has to be horizontal, so I had to hook the hydraulics back up and let the jack stands hold the hoe up temporarily.
So, remove the rod pins, rock the console back for access, mark and remove the hoses, remove the top support plate, then remove the cylinders.
I measured and ordered the six hoses, about $230. Today, I took the cylinders to have the seals replaced. I asked the man to leave the glands loose, since I anticipate welding on the cylinders and don't want to overheat the rubber parts. On the way back, I stopped by the Kubota dealer and ordered the six bushings, about $100.
Then started the search for a machine shop to weld and machine the trunnions. First shop, yeah we could do it but we're swamped. How about x, close by? They don't do repair work. After a few more calls I think a guy a couple of miles away from the cylinder shop is going to go by tomorrow to look at them to make sure he can do it. If so, he can pick them up, saving me a 30 mile round trip. If that fails, I think I have a backup shop.
Back home, I decided to tackle the bushings. After all the cut, grind, torch, etc. stories, I was dreading this. As a warm-up, I found a socket to use as a mandrel and took the top support to my nephew's 15 ton press. Pressed those babies right out, easy peasy! OK, what about the bottom ones? They're trickier since they're in the main frame, so can't take them to the press. And, there's a thin ring welded in the bottom of the bore to form a shoulder, preventing the bushings from coming out the bottom. Maybe I can pull them out. My lucky day, the socket/mandrel was small enough to slide in the stop ring, but large enough to drive the bushing. So I rigged a draw setup, shown below. That's a Gr 8 3/4" NC bolt through a socket on top large enough to clear the bushing, then through the bushing, then the mandrel/socket. Grease the nut for good measure. Put the 1" drive breaker bar with cheater to it and, amazingly, it pulled out. The only casualty was the bridge of my nose when the 1-1/8 backup wrench fell off. Fortunately, my glasses were ok.
Here's a picture of the 4 trunnion bushings, top 2 on top don't show as much wear as the bottom ones. It was definitely time to replace.
You can see there's a groove in the outside, so it's not absolutely necessary to line up the grease hole with the zerk. There was grit in that groove, so it had to work its way through the bushing bore and out through the grease hole. As @Nicksacco has mentioned, the bottom of those bushings is open, so dirt can get right in. I plan on making some shields to cover them, leaving a small hole so grease can flush out.
Tomorrow, actually later today now, I have some coordination to do and, if all goes well, I should have cylinders ready to go no later than early next week.
